Source: United States Department of Justice News
GREENEVILLE, Tenn. – On April 7, 2023, following a four-day trial in the United States District Court, Greeneville, Tenn., a jury convicted Timothy Carver, 53, of Jonesborough, Tenn., of knowingly producing child pornography, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2251(a), knowingly distributing child pornography, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2252A(a)(2)(A), and knowingly possessing child pornography involving a child less than 12 years of age, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2252A(a)(5)(B).
Sentencing is set for August 10th at 9:00am before the Honorable Clifton L. Corker, in United States District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee at Greeneville. Carver faces a minimum mandatory 15 years’ imprisonment for production of child pornography, a minimum mandatory five years for distribution of child pornography. Carver will also be subject to lifetime supervision and placement on the sex offender registry.
Evidence presented at trial proved the defendant videoed and photographed himself engaged in sexual acts with a 2-year-old. The proof further showed that he distributed a child pornography video to an FBI Online Covert Agent using a messaging application. FBI agents searched the defendant’s cellular phone and discovered 1,735 photo and video files containing child pornography.
U.S. Attorney Francis M. Hamilton, III of the Eastern District of Tennessee, made the announcement.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation, including agents from the Johnson City, Tennessee, and Pittsburgh Pennsylvania Field Offices, led the investigation that resulted in the indictment and subsequent conviction of Carver. The Washington County Sheriff’s Office assisted in the investigation.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Emily Swecker and Thomas McCauley represented the United States.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood (PSC), a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, PSC marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about PSC, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.
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